Turning Your Shed Into An Outdoor Office

When you have a wooden shed in your garden, you don’t always need to use it for storage purposes. Sometimes by transforming your shed, rather than demolishing it you can not only add value to your house, but you can also gain extra usage by different means. There are many ways you can transform your shed into an outdoor office, perfect for those who work from home, or those who simply need space to finish off that important paperwork.

Clear Out

Before you decide on the purpose of your shed, you first need to clear out your old belongings. Remove everything from the shed, strip the layer of dust and grime, and sand down any splinters that may protrude from the wood. You need to be left with a blank canvas, in order for your design to obtain the full effect.

Stain

It may be desirable to stain the outside of the shed before you move in your equipment, as it ensures that the paint will not splash on anything of importance. A layer of paint can work wonders for an old shed, and you may want to consider painting the inside also to gain a feeling of cleanliness about the interior. If you want to gain a true office feel, you do need to ensure that the shed is free from any external influences, no leaks must be present, and the structure must be safe.

Flooring

Now is the time to start designing your shed, do you wish to have carpet, or laminate flooring? Laminate flooring may be more desirable for some, because if you have to walk across a garden to get to the shed, you will trail muddy footprints through the office, and laminate flooring is much easier to clean.

Moving In

Now you need to consider what office items you would like in your shed, for those who perform their work on laptops and computers, plug sockets are a must. This means that you need to run electricity through your garden and into your shed, for some this simply isn’t possible, however if you manage to accomplish this feat, the rewards are outstanding. In order to give your shed a full office feel, install small book cases, and a wooden desk. You can also place small compartments for you to place your sticky notes and paper clips, pen holders and paper dispensers are also very useful. If you have a desk within your office, then you will need a chair, if your shed is very spacious then you may want to consider placing a computer chair inside, or a chair that has wheels to prevent scratching the floor.

If your shed is not very spacious, then a simple stand chair will do, as they don’t take up as much room. You don’t need to install large towering bookcases to add an office feel to your shed, sometimes having a small, knee high bookcase can work wonders, and whilst still giving you the storage space you need for all your office equipment. When choosing your office equipment you need to look at the tones of wood you are using, if your laminate floor is a pine shade, and then you want to try and blend the other furniture to match. Try and install a pine colored desk, or stain the outside of the shed in a similar color, the last thing you want is to have a dark exterior and a mis-matched interior, as this will look incredibly odd amongst the scenary. An office shed should look flowing, natural, and well designed if you wish to unleash the full effect, and this can be done with a little planning and a lot of imagination.

Author Bio

Harry Travis works in a shed superstore; he recommends wooden sheds to anyone who wishes to gain that extra storage space. He also suggests that you take great care when choosing the color of wood you want, as this will be reflected throughout the design. This post was brought to you by ilikesheds, the UK’s leading online shed superstore.